Prevention of overlay of production data by point in time copy operations in a host based asynchronous mirroring environment

ABSTRACT

A primary storage controller is configured to communicate with a secondary storage controller via a system data mover. In response to receiving a command to perform a point in time copy of a source volume of the primary storage controller to a target volume of the primary storage controller, a determination is made as to whether the target volume of the primary storage controller is a source for an asynchronous data replication operation, initiated by the system data mover, between the primary storage controller and the secondary storage controller. In response to determining that the target volume of the primary storage controller is the source for the asynchronous data replication operation, initiated by the system data mover, the point in time copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller to the target volume of the primary storage controller is performed.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosure relates to a method, a system, and a computer programproduct for the prevention of overlay of production data by point intime copy operations in a host based asynchronous mirroring environment.

2. Background

In certain storage system environments mirroring of data may beperformed asynchronously or synchronously. In synchronous mirroring ofdata, the system being replicated waits for the data to be recorded onthe duplicate system before proceeding. In asynchronous mirroring ofdata, the system being replicated does not wait for the data to berecorded on the duplicate system before proceeding. The mirroring ofdata may aid in disaster recovery.

Asynchronous remote copy operations may be used to provide datareplication over extended distances between two sites for businesscontinuity and disaster recovery. Certain synchronous copy operationsmay be used to create, nearly instantaneously, point in time copies ofentire logical volumes or data sets at the same site.

Certain storage system environments combine host applications withcontrol unit logic to provide an asynchronous disaster recoverysolution. The storage system environment may include a production siteand a remote site that are separated by an extended distance that may insome situations exceed a kilometer, hundreds of kilometers, or eventhousands of kilometers. Applications may execute the main productionworkloads at the production site, and backups may be stored in theremote sited for disaster recovery. The remote site may have a systemdata mover for moving data.

SUMMARY OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Provided are a method, a system, and a computer program product in whicha primary storage controller is configured to communicate with asecondary storage controller via a system data mover. In response toreceiving a command to perform a point in time copy of a source volumeof the primary storage controller to a target volume of the primarystorage controller, a determination is made as to whether the targetvolume of the primary storage controller is a source for an asynchronousdata replication operation, initiated by the system data mover, betweenthe primary storage controller and the secondary storage controller. Inresponse to determining that the target volume of the primary storagecontroller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation, initiated by the system data mover, the point in time copy ofthe source volume of the primary storage controller to the target volumeof the primary storage controller is performed.

In additional embodiments, the command to perform the point in time copyhas a target offline parameter that is configurable to indicate that thetarget volume is to be offline to host systems prior to initiating thepoint in time copy of the source volume of the primary storagecontroller to the target volume of the primary storage controller,wherein in response to determining that the target volume of the primarystorage controller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation, initiated by the system data mover, any configuration of thetarget offline parameter is ignored.

In yet additional embodiments, in response to determining that thetarget volume of the primary storage controller is in use by a hostsystem that is not the system data mover, the performing of the point intime copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller to thetarget volume of the primary storage controller is avoided.

In further embodiments, information is stored in the primary storagecontroller indicating which of a plurality of hosts at a remote site isthe system data mover that is allowed to access the target volume whilethe target volume is the target of the point in time operation, whereinthe stored information is determined from an indication included in aset system characteristics command that is sent from the system datamover to the primary storage controller, wherein determining whether thetarget volume of the primary storage controller is the source for theasynchronous data replication operation is based on the storedinformation.

In certain embodiments, a determination is made of channel pathsassociated with the system data mover from path group informationmaintained for each session of the primary storage controller, whereindetermining whether the target volume of the primary storage controlleris the source volume for the asynchronous data replication operation isbased on the determined channel paths.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers representcorresponding parts throughout:

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment thatincludes a storage network that includes a production site and a remotesite, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram that shows a point in time copyoperation that has a target offline parameter, in accordance withcertain embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram that shows a point in time copyoperation for which the target offline parameter is ignored, inaccordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment in which data structuresmaintained in the primary storage controller store information relatedto a system data mover, in accordance with certain embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart that shows certain operations, inaccordance with certain embodiments; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of a computational system that showscertain elements that may be included in the computing environment ofFIG. 1, in accordance with certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawings which form a part hereof and which illustrate severalembodiments. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized andstructural and operational changes may be made.

Certain embodiments allow a point in time copy operation to be performedwhile an asynchronous data replication operation is in progress, byignoring a target offline parameter of the point in time copy operation.As a result a source volume for an asynchronous data replicationoperation may be used as the target volume of the point in time copyoperation while backup is being performed to a remote site.

Exemplary Embodiments

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing environment 100 thatincludes a storage network 102 having a production site 104 and a remotesite 106. The production site 104 may include a plurality of productionhost systems 108 coupled to a primary storage controller 110, and theremote site 106 may include a plurality of data mover host systems 112coupled to a secondary storage controller 114. The production hostsystems 108, the primary storage controller 110, the data mover hostsystems 112, and the secondary storage controller 114 may comprise anysuitable computational device including those presently known in theart, such as, a personal computer, a workstation, a server, a mainframe,a hand held computer, a palm top computer, a telephony device, a networkappliance, a blade computer, a server, a controller, etc.

The plurality of data mover host systems 112 may include a system datamover (SDM) 116, wherein the system date data mover is implemented inhardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. The SDM 116 isin control of registering and terminating sessions with the primarystorage controller 110. The SDM 116 is also in control of establishingand withdrawing volumes from such sessions on the primary storagecontroller 110. The volumes that belong to such sessions may be onlineto the SDM 116.

The primary storage controller 110 may control storage volumes 118, 120,wherein the storage volumes may also be referred to as volumes. Incertain embodiments, a point in time copy operation may make a point intime copy of the storage volume 118 to the storage volume 120, i.e., thestorage volume 118 may represent the source volume for the point in timecopy operation and the storage volume 120 may represent the targetvolume for the point in time copy operation. Additionally, in certainembodiments the storage volume 120 may also be a source volume (alsoreferred to as “source”) for an asynchronous data replication operationthat performs remote copy from the primary storage controller 110 to thesecondary storage controller 114 via the SDM 116. Thus in certainembodiments, the storage volume 120 is expected to represent a target ofa point in time operation and also represent a source of an asynchronousdata replication operation. The primary storage controller 110 alsoincludes data structures 122 that maintain information about the SDM116. In certain embodiments, in addition to the storage volume 120, thestorage volume 118 may also be a source volume for an asynchronous datareplication operation that performs remote copy from the primary storagecontroller 110 to the secondary storage controller 114 via the SDM 116.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram 200 that shows in an exemplaryembodiment 202, a point in time copy operation 204 that has a targetoffline parameter 206, in accordance with certain embodiments. Thetarget offline parameter 206 may provide an indication that the targetvolume 120 should be offline to host systems before the point in timecommand 204 can make a point in time copy of the source volume 118 tothe target volume 120.

This storage network 102 may in certain situations cause anincompatibility between asynchronous data replication solutions andpoint in time copy solutions. If the target volume 120 is online, thenthis can prevent the target volume 120 from entering point in timerelationships as the target volume. For example, in certain point intime copy solutions, the point in time copy command 204 may be rejectedif the point in time target volume that is specified is online to anySDM. This option guards against the accidental use of the point in timecopy command 204 to overwrite “active” data in the target volume 120.

However, if the target volume 120 of the point in time copy command 204is being only used for backup via asynchronous data replication, thetarget volume 120 is only online to the SDM 116 and does not have any“active” data, wherein “active” data is data that should not beoverwritten.

A potential mechanism may avoid configuring the target offline parameter206 when creating a point in time relationship. This may nullify thesafeguards provided by configuring the target offline parameter 206.Certain embodiments provide a mechanism to allow for the point in timerelationship to be created when the target volume has been establishedas the source of an asynchronous data replication operation.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram 302 that shows an exemplaryembodiment 302 corresponding to a point in time copy command 304 forwhich the target offline parameter 306 is ignored, in accordance withcertain embodiments.

In the exemplary embodiment 302 shown in FIG. 3, the point in time copyoperation 304 has the target offline parameter 306 configured. However,if it is determined that the target volume 310 is a source volume of anasynchronous data replication operation then the target offlineparameter 306 is ignored and point in time copy operations perform apoint in time copy of the source volume 308 to the target volume 310.

Therefore, FIG. 3 illustrates certain embodiments in which the targetoffline parameter 306 is ignored even when the target offline parameter306 is configured in a point in time copy command 304.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment 402 in which data structures122 maintained in the primary storage controller 110 stores informationrelated to the SDM 116, in accordance with certain embodiments. Incertain embodiments, the SDM 116 is capable of updating the datastructures 122 to indicate that SDM 116 has a storage volume reservedfor asynchronous data replication operations. This storage volume thatis reserved is not “active” and can be overwritten. Once thisinformation is stored in the data structures 122, the data structures122 may be processed to determine that since the SDM 116 is using thereserved storage volume for asynchronous data replication operations,the storage volume may also serve as the target of a point in time copyoperation and the target offline parameter 306 may be ignored.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart 500 that shows certain operations, inaccordance with certain embodiments. The operations shown in theflowchart 500 may be performed at the primary storage controller 110.

Control starts at block 502, in which the primary storage controller 110is configured to communicate with a secondary storage controller 114 viaa system data mover 116. The primary storage controller 110 receives (atblock 504) a command 304 to perform a point in time copy of a sourcevolume 118 of the primary storage controller 110 to a target volume 120of the primary storage controller 110, wherein the command 304 toperform the point in time copy has a target offline parameter 306 thatconfigurable to indicate that the target volume 120 is to be offlineprior to initiating the point in time copy of the source volume 118 ofthe primary storage controller 110 to the target volume 118 of theprimary storage controller 110.

Control proceeds to block 506 in which a determination is made as towhether the target volume 120 of the primary storage controller 110 is asource for an asynchronous data replication operation, initiated by thesystem data mover 116, between the primary storage controller 110 andthe secondary storage controller 114. If at block 506, a determinationis made that the target volume 120 of the primary storage controller 110is a source for an asynchronous data replication operation, initiated bythe system data mover 116, between the primary storage controller 110and the secondary storage controller 114, then control proceeds to block507 in which a determination is made as to whether the target volume 120of the primary storage controller 110 is in use by a host system that isnot the system data mover 116.

If at block 507, it is determined that the target volume 120 of theprimary storage controller 110 is not in use by a host system that isnot the system data mover 116, then a point in time copy of the sourcevolume of the primary storage controller to the target volume of theprimary storage controller is performed (at block 508), wherein anysetting of the target offline parameter 310 is ignored. If at block 507,it is determined that the target volume 120 of the primary storagecontroller 110 is in use by a host system that is not the system datamover 116, control proceeds to block 512, in which the performing of thepoint in time copy of the source volume of the primary storagecontroller to the target volume of the primary storage controller isavoided as the target volume 120 may be “active” and as a result shouldnot be overwritten.

If at block 506, a determination is made that the target volume 120 ofthe primary storage controller 110 is not a source for an asynchronousdata replication operation, initiated by the system data mover 116,between the primary storage controller 110 and the secondary storagecontroller 114, then control proceeds to block 510, in which adetermination is made as to whether the target volume 120 of the primarystorage controller 110 is in use by a host system that is not the systemdata mover 116.

If at block 510, a determination is made that the target volume 120 ofthe primary storage controller 110 is in use by a host system that isnot the system data mover 116, then the performing of the point in timecopy of the source volume 118 of the primary storage controller 110 tothe target volume 120 of the primary storage controller 110 is avoided(at block 512) as the target volume 120 may be “active” and as a resultshould not be overwritten.

If at block 510, a determination is made that the target volume 120 ofthe primary storage controller 110 is not in use by a host system thatis not the system data mover 116, then the point in time copy of thesource volume 118 of the primary storage controller 110 to the targetvolume 120 of the primary storage controller 110 is performed.

As a result of the operations shown in FIG. 5, the overlay of productiondata by point in time copy operations in a host based asynchronousmirroring environment is avoided when the other hosts besides the SDM116 are using storage volumes that are the target of the point in timecopy operations. However, when the SDM 116 uses storage volumes as asource for remote backup via asynchronous replication operation, andother hosts besides the SDM 116 are not using the storage volumes thatare the target of the point in time copy operations, then the targetoffline parameter 306 is ignored and both asynchronous data replicationand point in time copy can be performed at the same time.

In certain embodiments, a new indication can be added to a set systemcharacteristics (SSC) command that is sent from SDM 116 at the remotesite 106 to the primary storage controller 116. The indicator may thennotify the primary storage controller 110 to consider the informationthat the path group the SSC command was received on was from a remoteSDM. This means that the target online checking is to be ignored for anydevice online to only the SDM.

In certain other embodiments, control unit logic may be added todetermine the channel paths associated with the SDM from the path groupinformation already kept for each storage controller session. As aresult, the target online checking is ignored for any device that isonline to only the SDM host.

Certain embodiments may be implemented in the context of IBM* XRCmirroring solutions in combination with IBM* FlashCopy* (FC) Point inTime (PiT) function. * Java is a trademark or registered trademark ofSun Microsystems, Inc. * IBM, FlashCopy are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.

In a first embodiment, a parameter library (PARMLIB) option is providedto allow the user to indicate whether or not a given host system is aSDM system. When the PARMLIB option is set indicating that the system isa SDM system, the host sets the new indicator in the SSC command. TheSSC command is received by the primary storage controller. The primarystorage controller then parses the command and finds the new indicator.The Pathing component is then aware that the channel path that the SSCcommand was received on is associated with the XRC SDM. This knowledgeis stored in an internal control block, such as the data structures 122.Later when a FlashCopy command is received with the target offlineparameter specified, a check can be made to see if the device was onlineto any other host other than the SDM. If the device is only online tothe SDM host, the FlashCopy command will be accepted.

A second embodiment does not need any additional information from theSDM. The primary storage controller 110 already has all the informationneeded. Volumes can only be established into one XRC Storage Controllersession. When the session is registered, the Path Group the command wasreceived on is saved in the XRC Storage Controller session. The PathGroup information is saved for the lifetime of the session and persiststhrough session suspensions. Later when a FlashCopy command is receivedwith the target offline parameter, Copy Services can call Pathing withthe Path Group information saved in the session. Pathing will verifythat the target volume is not online to any other host other than theSDM by masking out the Path Group information received from CopyServices.

Additional Embodiment Details

The described operations may be implemented as a method, apparatus orcomputer program product using standard programming and/or engineeringtechniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combinationthereof. Accordingly, aspects of the embodiments may take the form of anentirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,aspects of the embodiments may take the form of a computer programproduct embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) havingcomputer readable program code embodied there.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent invention may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java*, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram that shows certain elements that maybe included in the system 600 in accordance with certain embodiments.The system 600 may comprise the primary storage controller 110, theproduction host systems 108, the data mover host systems 112, thesecondary storage controller 114, the SDM 116, and may include acircuitry 602 that may in certain embodiments include at least aprocessor 604. The system 600 may also include a memory 606 (e.g., avolatile memory device), and storage 608. The storage 608 may include anon-volatile memory device (e.g., EEPROM, ROM, PROM, RAM, DRAM, SRAM,flash, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), magnetic disk drive, opticaldisk drive, tape drive, etc. The storage 608 may comprise an internalstorage device, an attached storage device and/or a network accessiblestorage device. The system 600 may include a program logic 610 includingcode 612 that may be loaded into the memory 606 and executed by theprocessor 604 or circuitry 602. In certain embodiments, the programlogic 610 including code 612 may be stored in the storage 608. Incertain other embodiments, the program logic 610 may be implemented inthe circuitry 602. Therefore, while FIG. 6 shows the program logic 610separately from the other elements, the program logic 610 may beimplemented in the memory 606 and/or the circuitry 602.

Certain embodiments may be directed to a method for deploying computinginstruction by a person or automated processing integratingcomputer-readable code into a computing system, wherein the code incombination with the computing system is enabled to perform theoperations of the described embodiments.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “theembodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “someembodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all)embodiments of the present invention(s)” unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereofmean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expresslyspecified otherwise.

Devices that are in communication with each other need not be incontinuous communication with each other, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. In addition, devices that are in communication with eachother may communicate directly or indirectly through one or moreintermediaries.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communicationwith each other does not imply that all such components are required. Onthe contrary a variety of optional components are described toillustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the presentinvention.

Further, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the likemay be described in a sequential order, such processes, methods andalgorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In otherwords, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does notnecessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in thatorder. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in anyorder practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readilyapparent that more than one device/article (whether or not theycooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly,where more than one device or article is described herein (whether ornot they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a singledevice/article may be used in place of the more than one device orarticle or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead ofthe shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or thefeatures of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more otherdevices which are not explicitly described as having suchfunctionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the present inventionneed not include the device itself.

At least certain operations that may have been illustrated in thefigures show certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternativeembodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order,modified or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above describedlogic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further,operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operationsmay be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performedby a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.

The foregoing description of various embodiments of the invention hasbeen presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in lightof the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention belimited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claimsappended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide acomplete description of the manufacture and use of the composition ofthe invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, theinvention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.

1. A method, comprising: configuring a primary storage controller tocommunicate with a secondary storage controller via a system data mover;in response to receiving a command to perform a point in time copy of asource volume of the primary storage controller to a target volume ofthe primary storage controller, determining whether the target volume ofthe primary storage controller is a source for an asynchronous datareplication operation, initiated by the system data mover, between theprimary storage controller and the secondary storage controller; and inresponse to determining that the target volume of the primary storagecontroller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation, initiated by the system data mover, performing the point intime copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller to thetarget volume of the primary storage controller.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the command to perform the point in time copy has a targetoffline parameter that is configurable to indicate that the targetvolume is to be offline to host systems prior to initiating the point intime copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller to thetarget volume of the primary storage controller, and wherein in responseto determining that the target volume of the primary storage controlleris the source for the asynchronous data replication operation, initiatedby the system data mover, and that the target volume of the primarystorage controller is not in use by a host system that is not the systemdata mover, any configuration of the target offline parameter isignored.
 3. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising: inresponse to determining that the target volume of the primary storagecontroller is in use by a host system that is not the system data mover,avoiding performing the point in time copy of the source volume of theprimary storage controller to the target volume of the primary storagecontroller.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storinginformation in the primary storage controller indicating which of aplurality of hosts at a remote site is the system data mover that isallowed to access the target volume while the target volume is thetarget of the point in time operation, wherein the stored information isdetermined from an indication included in a set system characteristicscommand that is sent from the system data mover to the primary storagecontroller, wherein determining whether the target volume of the primarystorage controller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation is based on the stored information.
 5. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining channel paths associated with the systemdata mover from path group information maintained for each session ofthe primary storage controller, wherein determining whether the targetvolume of the primary storage controller is the source volume for theasynchronous data replication operation is based on the determinedchannel paths.
 6. A system, comprising: a memory; and a processorcoupled to the memory, wherein the processor performs operations, theoperations comprising: configuring a primary storage controller tocommunicate with a secondary storage controller via a system data mover;in response to receiving a command to perform a point in time copy of asource volume of the primary storage controller to a target volume ofthe primary storage controller, determining whether the target volume ofthe primary storage controller is a source for an asynchronous datareplication operation, initiated by the system data mover, between theprimary storage controller and the secondary storage controller; and inresponse to determining that the target volume of the primary storagecontroller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation, initiated by the system data mover, performing the point intime copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller to thetarget volume of the primary storage controller.
 7. The system of claim6, wherein the command to perform the point in time copy has a targetoffline parameter that is configurable to indicate that the targetvolume is to be offline to host systems prior to initiating the point intime copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller to thetarget volume of the primary storage controller, and wherein in responseto determining that the target volume of the primary storage controlleris the source for the asynchronous data replication operation, initiatedby the system data mover, and that the target volume of the primarystorage controller is not in use by a host system that is not the systemdata mover, any configuration of the target offline parameter isignored.
 8. The system of claim 6, the operations further comprising: inresponse to determining that the target volume of the primary storagecontroller is in use by a host system that is not the system data mover,avoiding performing the point in time copy of the source volume of theprimary storage controller to the target volume of the primary storagecontroller.
 9. The system of claim 6, the operations further comprising:storing information in the primary storage controller indicating whichof a plurality of hosts at a remote site is the system data mover thatis allowed to access the target volume while the target volume is thetarget of the point in time operation, wherein the stored information isdetermined from an indication included in a set system characteristicscommand that is sent from the system data mover to the primary storagecontroller, wherein determining whether the target volume of the primarystorage controller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation is based on the stored information.
 10. The system of claim 6,the operations further comprising: determining channel paths associatedwith the system data mover from path group information maintained foreach session of the primary storage controller, wherein determiningwhether the target volume of the primary storage controller is thesource volume for the asynchronous data replication operation is basedon the determined channel paths.
 11. A computer program product, thecomputer program product comprising: a computer readable storage mediumhaving computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computerreadable program code configured to perform operations, the operationscomprising: configuring a primary storage controller to communicate witha secondary storage controller via a system data mover; in response toreceiving a command to perform a point in time copy of a source volumeof the primary storage controller to a target volume of the primarystorage controller, determining whether the target volume of the primarystorage controller is a source for an asynchronous data replicationoperation, initiated by the system data mover, between the primarystorage controller and the secondary storage controller; and in responseto determining that the target volume of the primary storage controlleris the source for the asynchronous data replication operation, initiatedby the system data mover, performing the point in time copy of thesource volume of the primary storage controller to the target volume ofthe primary storage controller.
 12. The computer program product ofclaim 11, wherein the command to perform the point in time copy has atarget offline parameter that is configurable to indicate that thetarget volume is to be offline to host systems prior to initiating thepoint in time copy of the source volume of the primary storagecontroller to the target volume of the primary storage controller, andwherein in response to determining that the target volume of the primarystorage controller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation, initiated by the system data mover, and that the targetvolume of the primary storage controller is not in use by a host systemthat is not the system data mover, any configuration of the targetoffline parameter is ignored.
 13. The computer program product of claim11, the operations further comprising: in response to determining thatthe target volume of the primary storage controller is in use by a hostsystem that is not the system data mover, avoiding performing the pointin time copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller tothe target volume of the primary storage controller.
 14. The computerprogram product of claim 11, the operations further comprising: storinginformation in the primary storage controller indicating which of aplurality of hosts at a remote site is the system data mover that isallowed to access the target volume while the target volume is thetarget of the point in time operation, wherein the stored information isdetermined from an indication included in a set system characteristicscommand that is sent from the system data mover to the primary storagecontroller, wherein determining whether the target volume of the primarystorage controller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation is based on the stored information.
 15. The computer programproduct of claim 11, the operations further comprising: determiningchannel paths associated with the system data mover from path groupinformation maintained for each session of the primary storagecontroller, wherein determining whether the target volume of the primarystorage controller is the source volume for the asynchronous datareplication operation is based on the determined channel paths.
 16. Amethod for deploying computing infrastructure, comprising integratingcomputer-readable code into a computational system, wherein the code incombination with the computational system performs operations, theoperations comprising: configuring a primary storage controller tocommunicate with a secondary storage controller via a system data mover;in response to receiving a command to perform a point in time copy of asource volume of the primary storage controller to a target volume ofthe primary storage controller, determining whether the target volume ofthe primary storage controller is a source for an asynchronous datareplication operation, initiated by the system data mover, between theprimary storage controller and the secondary storage controller; and inresponse to determining that the target volume of the primary storagecontroller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation, initiated by the system data mover, performing the point intime copy of the source volume of the primary storage controller to thetarget volume of the primary storage controller.
 17. The method fordeploying computing infrastructure of claim 16, wherein the command toperform the point in time copy has a target offline parameter that isconfigurable to indicate that the target volume is to be offline to hostsystems prior to initiating the point in time copy of the source volumeof the primary storage controller to the target volume of the primarystorage controller, and wherein in response to determining that thetarget volume of the primary storage controller is the source for theasynchronous data replication operation, initiated by the system datamover, and that the target volume of the primary storage controller isnot in use by a host system that is not the system data mover, anyconfiguration of the target offline parameter is ignored.
 18. The methodfor deploying computing infrastructure of claim 16, the operationsfurther comprising: in response to determining that the target volume ofthe primary storage controller is in use by a host system that is notthe system data mover, avoiding performing the point in time copy of thesource volume of the primary storage controller to the target volume ofthe primary storage controller.
 19. The method for deploying computinginfrastructure of claim 16, the operations further comprising: storinginformation in the primary storage controller indicating which of aplurality of hosts at a remote site is the system data mover that isallowed to access the target volume while the target volume is thetarget of the point in time operation, wherein the stored information isdetermined from an indication included in a set system characteristicscommand that is sent from the system data mover to the primary storagecontroller, wherein determining whether the target volume of the primarystorage controller is the source for the asynchronous data replicationoperation is based on the stored information.
 20. The method fordeploying computing infrastructure of claim 16, the operations furthercomprising: determining channel paths associated with the system datamover from path group information maintained for each session of theprimary storage controller, wherein determining whether the targetvolume of the primary storage controller is the source volume for theasynchronous data replication operation is based on the determinedchannel paths.